The World’s Worst Cheap Baby Wipes…and How I Rescued Them

I am definitely a bargain hunter. I started stockpiling diapers and wipes when I could get a great deal, oh, about 5 minutes after I found out I was pregnant. Kacie over at Sense to Save is a kindred spirit in that regard. She made a fierce diaper and wipe spreadsheet to keep track of her deals. I was inspired by her quest to get her baby wipes cheap and I did the same.

Where to Buy Baby Wipes Cheap

One thing I quickly noticed is that she found these Sesame Street Baby wipes at the Dollar Tree. One package of 80 wipes was, you guessed it, $1.00! Any new parent can tell you that boxes of wipes typically retail for between $3-4.00/package, and many of the packages have fewer than 80 wipes in them. One dollar for 80 wipes seemed almost too good to be true. I went out and bought 3 packages of these cheap baby wipes, and then decided to hold off, just in case they somehow didn’t work (but how could a wipe not work?). After Kacie’s baby was born, I wrote to her and asked her how she liked the wipes. She told me that they definitely weren’t her favorites, and that she would use what she bought, but not purchase any more. I was sad to hear this, but took it as a sign to also not buy anymore, at least not until I could try them out for myself.

So about a week ago I decided to try them out. And people, they were terrible. Simply terrible. The wipes have a strange sort of spongy/scratchy feel to them, and they are the driest wipes I’ve ever used. Yes, it is true that I bought them several months ago, but I kept them in a temperature controlled space, so I think that they simply are this dry. As is, you would need to use far more wipes, especially for any sort of blowout situation. Having to use more wipes than you normally would, of course, makes these not such a great deal.

In addition to being a bargain hunter, I’m also terribly cheap. Tim wanted me to throw out the wipes, but I couldn’t bear to do that. So here’s how I salvaged them for use: I went to the beautiful world wide web and looked up a recipe for DIY wipes. I found a recipe here. Basically I combined 1 cup of boiling water with 1 TbspBaby Oil, 1 Tbsp baby lotion, and 1 Tbsp Baby Shampoo. I mixed them all together until dissolved with a whisk, and then I poured the liquid over the wipes so that they would once again be moist. Tim agreed that the wipes were once again usable. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about the scratchiness of the wipes, which is really the main reason I won’t be purchasing them again. That’s right, folks, I’m so cheap that if the cloth had been softer, I would have purchased more and just enhanced them myself with this little recipe, because even with the added work and ingredients, they would still be an awesome deal.

I hope you can take two things away from this post. First, is that if you want baby wipes for cheap, you have to factor in more than the sticker price. Avoid the Sesame Street wipes, if for no other reason than the fact that they are scratchy. Second, if you find yourself with any brand of wipes that has lost its moisture, there is a solution so that you don’t have to pitch them, and making that solution took all of 5 minutes.

And if you want good cheap baby wipes, then you’ll need to do some combination of bulk purchasing and couponing. My opinion is that the best newborn baby wipes are from Huggies and if you watch sales and also carefully watch for coupons, you can get them at a good price (always check Amazon, too…sometimes they charge too much, and sometimes their prices are totally fair). And if you don’t have time to deal with sales and coupons, I think the Kirkland brand wipes at Costco are solidly good and a very decent buy.

Yeah, the Aldi’s wipes are legit. We get those a lot. I did try the Dollar Tree wipes, and my biggest complaint was that the wipes are kind of small. I was worried about getting poop on my hands while wiping my daughter’s butt because the wipes are like half the size of my hand. Those wipes are awful, but i’m all about the Aldi’s wipes.

That's a great idea! I have seen those wipes! Now I know not to buy a pack. Not sure if this helps – but we buy our wipes in bulk and you can get a box of (I think) 760 for a little under $10 that way. Best of luck and great post!

Trackbacks

[…] Need is a place where we tend to keep it light and breezy. My most harrowing tales are about the worst baby wipes on the market, and my words of wisdom are about things like how to make iced coffee at home (which I believe to […]

Connect

Welcome!

Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]